Bed.



S. W. & A. SMITH.

BBD.

APPLIoATIoI Hmm xox. as. 1911.

Pana'Nov. 5, 1912.

' y UNITED sTATIIs PATENT OFFICE.

STERLING W. .SMITH AND ALBERT W. SMITH, 0F BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

BED.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

Application led November 28, 1911. Serial No. 662,911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, STERLING W. SMITH and ALBERT IV. SMITH, both citizens of the United States, residing at Berkeley, inthe county of Alameda and State of California, have invented neu and useful Improvements in Beds, of which the following is a speciii- A cation.

This invention relatesto a bed structure. The present rental values of apartment houses, apartment hotels, and other residential buildings, make it an inducement to provide furniture,and particularly7 beds,

-capable of being adjusted horizontally7 for tically adjustabletype be designed as ar-V tistically, yet as inexpensively, as compatible with durability.

To that end it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a bed structure of greatstrength, artistic proportions, and substantial design, and which bed structure may be so mounted and counterpoised that it may be adjusted in the several positions with but slight exertion by a person. It is desirable to devise and provide a bed structure involving peculiar details of construction, which will render unnecessary the end rails of the bed; there being instead a plural'ity of slats or transverse bars rigidly connecting in parallelism the side rails of the bed. These bars afford means for receiving and supporting Well known forms of coil springs; these springs being far more desirable for certain reasons than fabric springs particularly because of the fact that fabric springs, being largely connected to the end rails, are under great strain due to the tension of the fabric, stretching from end to cud of the bed frame.

An important feature of the present invention is in so designing and co-nnecting the elements off the bed structure that the culiar construction and relation of parta after the bed frame has once been adjusted to vert-ical position, it is sustained therein without necessitating or requiring a special latch or its equivalent to sustain it in vertical position.

The, invention consists ofthe parts and the construction and combination ot parts, as hereinafter more fully. described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a plan viewr of the improved bed. Fig'. 2 is a side elevation of the same in horizontal position; Fig. 3 is a side ele-A vation with the bed in vertical position. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View of thel selfcentering foot leg. j i

It is a desideratum to provide abcd structure designed to economize the floor space occupied both when in horizontal or vertical position,and to so design the bed structure that it is semi-automatic in horizontal and vertical adjustment and is entirely automatic in relation to the adjustment of thev head frame of the bed relative the mattress frame.

After an extended period of experiments and actual practice, we have devised and actually used a bed structure involving the several features of our invention.

ln the illust-rated embodiment of our invention is disclosed a mattress supporting frame 2. This frame 2 is of peculiar construction and comprises longitudinal or side rails 3 of appropriate length and material; these being connected transversely by a plurality ofslats 4t, here shown as disposed edgewise and depressed relative to the top surface of the bars 3. The ends of the slats 4 are riveted or otherwise appropriately secured, as at 5, to the top edges of the rails 3.

We have found that a frame constructed in this manner is extremely rigid, and by depressing or lowering .the slats 4 at their portions between the bed rails 3, a greatsaving of space is produced. These bed slats it aie here shown as being connected to the lower ends of helical springs 6, the bodies of which project below the upper edge of the bed rails 3 and the upper portions project above the railsto receive a mattress, part of which is indicated at 7. The mattress is secured by appropriate devices, as straps, one of which is indicated at 8 as hooked at 9 to the side rails of the bed.

It` will be seen that the slats 4 serve the I means by which the springs 6 of the bed structure are supported. The bed frame is shown as mounted adjacent its head portion upon pivots or fulcrums 10 in legsor brackets 11, which are stationary relative to the bed frame 2; that is, the brackets or legs 11 supporting the head of the bed may be attached to a suitable support, as' a floor, so

long as the brackets 11 serve the functions of legs for the head of thebed.

The foot end of the bed is supported when in the horizontal position upon automatically operating legs 12, which are here shown as provided with upper conical ends 13, slotted as at 14, to play up and down a pivot 15, of which there'is one in each end of the foot rail 16 secured to the side rails 3 of' the bed frame. As the bed frame 2 is lifted from a position shown in Fig. 2, the weight of the legs 12 Will prevent their 4being llfted by the bed frame 2, until the pins 15 engage the upper end walls of the slots 14, and thereafter kas the bed frame 2 is swunA about the fulcrums10, the legs 12 will swing on the pins or pivots 15 until they assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 substantially parallel with the vertical rails 3, of the bed. As the bed frame 2 is swung from vertical position, Fig. 3,'the legs 12 will hang in a vertical osition about the pivots 15, until the bed frame 2 approaches the horizontal position, when the upper conical ends13 of the legs will enterconical seats 13 of the foot rail 16; .thereby automatically centering the legs l2 with relation-to the adjacent portions of l I the foot frame 16.., L

One ofthe important features `of this-invention is the means whereby-the bed' frame' 2 is semi-,automatically moved from a point approximately horizontal to the vertical position. As here shown, each of these sup- .porting brackets or legs is designed with an upwardly projecting portion 17, to which is l plvoted at 18 a sleeve or shell 19 of suitable proportions, within which is telescopic a bushi-ng or plunger 20. The lower end of the bushing 20 1s ivoted at 21 to an arm 22, of which there 1s one on each side of the bed; these arms being shown in the present instance as attached to the side rails '3'and offset suiciently therefrom to straddle the fulcrum or bearing portion 10'o'f thelegs 11.

` In producing a semi-automatic or automatically` adjustable and tiltable bed, it isfound extremely. expedient and desirable that` the -force requlred to'move the bed be applied in such a manner that it will be practically ineffective and inoperative when the bed isin a horizontal position, but at the same timethe force utilized in assisting the movement of the bed to the vertical position should be so applied as to eiiciently move the bed after it has started from its horizontal position to and maintain it in the vertical position. We have accomplished this semi-automatic movement and automatic. sustaining of the bed in the vertical position by locating the point of pressure or pivots 21 of the arms 22 with such relation to the bedfulcrums 10 that when the bed is in a horizontal position, the agency employed to assist in the upward movement will be, to all intents and purposes, inert or so nearly inert as to be devoid of sufficient power to automatically lift the bed from its horizontal position.

Numerous agencies of force may be utilized to swing the bed upwardly about the fulcrums 10, but we have found it expedient, inexpensive and practicable to employ expansible springs 23 which we interpose be- -tWeen the pivots 18 of the brackets 17 and the pivots 21 of the arms 22, and within the telescopic tubes 19 and 20. These springs are designed to have sufficient resiliency and expansibility to be ample to lift Aor swing the bed upwardly, after it has been lifted a slight distance from the horizontal plane.

In accomplishing the desired application of force to the tiltable bed in a vertical manner, we have determined and practised that by locating the points of pressure or pivots 21 of tlie arms at a point between 30 and 80 degrees with relation to, and back of, the fulcrums 10, the force of the springs or other lifting agencies employed will produce most satisfactorily the desired action of the bed. With the point of pressure 21 located within the range of arc stated or at a point approximately 45 degrees relative the fulcrums 10 when the bed is turned in the horizontal position, Fig. 2, the line of force from the sta? tionary point 10 through the expansible agencies, as springs 23, and from the point 21 is brought so close to the fulcrums 10 that the pressure of the springs is rendered totally ineffective to lift the bed frame 3 without a certain amount of force being applied to the outer or foot end of the bed structure.

Considering the bed frame 3 as a lever of the first order, havin a short arm represented between the points 10 and 21 and a long arm represented between the fulcrums 10 and the foot of the bed, it is manifest that the application of little force at the outer or foot end of the bed will be sufficient to start its upward movement: Whereas, with the head of the bed between the fulcrums 10 and rear of the brackets 11, the shortness of the lever will require the application of a relatlvely great force to produce the upward movement of the foot of the bedyand herein isseen the advantage of disposing the points of pressure as at 21 with such relation to the fulcrums 10 that the force of the lifting agencies or springs 23 will be so gradually diminished, due to the swinging of its leverage relative thev point '10, that the lifting agencies will become substantially inert.

As an individual starts the upward movement of the'bed ,structure 3 about the ful- `crums 10, the points 21 will swing backwardly in an arc, so that eventually the points 21 will be brought into a plane with the fulcrums 10, at which time the lifting agencies 23 will be exerting a force amply suilicient, due to the increase of the arm of the lever relatively between the points 10 and a point indicated at B, at which time the force of the springs 23 will be acting, due to the combination of the increase/of leverage and their inherent expansibility with a force amply sufiicient to' carry the bed upwardly without Violence. As the points 21 continue to swing inv their arc about the fulcrums 10, the springs 23 will continue to expand, and when the bed frame 3 has finally reached its vertical sition, the points 21 will be in a position indicated in Fig. 2; the springs 23 still acting with sufiicient force to safely maintain the bed frame 3 in vertical adjustment. Thus. it will be seen that the peculiar relation of the points 21 to the fulcrum 10 is of great advantage and produces a bed structure which may be operated with ease by al proper p erson.

When the bed is in the vertical position, it is found that a child under the age of discretion would not be able to pull the bed downwardly, because of the fact that he could not reach sufficiently high to apply force eno-ugh to move the bed from its automatically sustained position, due to the action of the spring 23. 4An adult, it is found, has no difficulty in pulling the bed downwardly, when desired, because, being able to reach higher on the fra-me, has the advantage ot the greater leverage between the full crums 10 and the upper end of the foot of the bed.

In order to provide an artistic and readily salable bed structure, we connect to the frame 3 at pivots 24 a. head frame 25 of suitable design, which. is adapted. to fold about the pivots 24 when adjusted vertically as shown in Fig. 3, and to extend at right angles to the bed frame 3 when the latter is adjusted to the position shown in Fig. 2. The pivots 24 are shown as connected to the upper ends of arms 26 standing at a right angle to the bed frame 3; the length of the arm 26 being suficient `to hold the head frame 25 when the-bed is adjusted vertically, sufiiciently distant. therefrom to admit the mattress and bed-clothes without unduly compressing the same.

It is a desirable and important feature ofbeds of this type to automatically cause the to the bed frame 3 during the movements of the-latter, 'and in order to accomplish this automatic folding, there is formed on the sides of the arms 17 adjacent theends ofthe`yr bed-frame '25* guideways 27, in which are slidable pins 28 projecting lfrom the adjacent ends of the head frame and rconstantly engaging the walls of the guidew'ays "I 27.- Thus, by reason of the engagement of the .pins 28 with the guidewa-ys 27, asithe bed frame 3 'is moved from the vertical to the horizontal position, the pins 28 o`tl1e"*-' head frame will slide upwardly in theV guideways, until, when the head trame'25 has finally arrived at the position indicated in Fig. 2, it will be sustalned there by the engagement of the pins 28 with the upper walls of the guideways 27. Conversely, when the bed frame 3 is swung upwardl the pins 28 of the head frame 25 will sli e downwardly and control the head frame/25 constantly, until it finally; assumes the position shown in Fig. 3, w en the bed frame 3 is in vertical position.

There may be provided and attached to the bracket arms 17 an appropriately designed, upwardly projecting frame 30, the lower ends of which are insertible in sockets 31; the frame being designed to support at its upper, outwardly projecting portion 32 a portiere or other inclosing curtain or fabric, so that when the bed has been adjusted in vertical position, the portire may be folded around in front of the bed to entirely conceal it.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. A 'bed including fixed vertically disposed standard brackets, side bed rails pivoted to the lower portion of the brackets, and having angular extensions beyond the pivots,`telescop1c tubes, one member of each of which is pivoted to the bed rail eXtensions and the other.y to the upper ends of the brackets, and normally compressed springs located in the tubes and reacting in unison upon the extension of tht` bed rail.

2. A bed including` fixed verticall posed standard brackets, side bed rai s pivoted to the lower portion of the brackets, and having angular extensions beyond the pivots, telescopic tubes, ope member of each of which is pivoted to the-bed rail extensions and the other to the upper ends of the brackets, normally compressed springs located in the tubes and acting in unlson to upwardly swing the bed, a head board pivoted 'to-ex' tensions of the side rails, diagonall disposedguideways on the brackets, an pro jections from the head board engaging the ides. t 3. The combination in a bed of a tiltable` frame, a` bracket structure at one end theredis- - mid-distance, and Withdiminished pressure of said structure having pivots about which the bed may turn, a counterbalance; connected to the bracket structure for swinging the frame from a position approximately horizontal, and means for rendering the counterbalance ineffective when the bed frame is substantiallyk horizontal, said means including extensions on the frame projecting rearwardly and upwardly' from the plane of said frame beyond the pivotsthe arms, said springs being compressed with gradually increasing pressure during the descent of the bed to approximately -as they bed approaches its horizontal position.

5'. A bed comprising a frame, an u j wardly extending bracket struct-ure, to te lower part of which the side bars of the frame are pivoted, upwardly curved arms extending from the side bars beyond the pivot points, telescopically acting tubes, one of which is swiveled to a pivot at. the top of the bracket and the others to the upturned ends of the arms, and springs compressibl and maintained in alinement by said tube;

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two sutiscribing witnesses.

STERLING W. SMITH. ALBERT W. SMITH.

Witnesses:

SID. S. PALMER, EDITH W. SMITH. 

